Equity and the Environment (Conference)
	at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), I Kensington Gore,
London SW7 2AR
	Wednesday 8th November 2000
	10.00 am to 5.00 pm
	For full details telephone 0207 591 3007 or email
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CONTRIBUTORS: Ken Webster, WWF, Gordon Walker, Staffordshire University;
Robert D Bullard, Clark Atlanta University; Maria Adebowale, Environmental
Law Foundation; Judy Ling Wong FRSA OBE, Black Environment Network;
Professor Andy Blowers, Open University; Kate Burningham, University of
Surrey; Julian Agyeman, Tufts University, Boston-Medford; Simon Bullock,
Friends of the Earth; John Adams, DETR

THE ISSUES
It has become increasingly apparent that questions of environmental
degradation and access to environmental resources are inextricably linked to
questions of social equity, justice and the quality of life in the widest
sense. It is clear that environmental problems bear down disproportionately
upon the poor. This unequal distribution of environmental 'bads' is, of
course, compounded by the fact that globally and nationally, the poor are
not the major polluters. Most environmental pollution and degradation is
caused by the actions of the rich high-consumption nations and of the more
affluent groups within those societies. The emergence of the Environmental
Justice movement in the US over the last two decades was in large part a
response to these inequities.

The second dimension is that of sustainable development. The 'new
environmental agenda' of sustainability which emerged from the 1992 Rio
Earth Summit, places great emphasis upon the need to ensure a better quality
of life for all. Sustainability, it is argued, cannot be just an
environmental concern. A truly sustainable society is one where wider
questions of social welfare are integrally connected to environmental
concerns.

This conference will explore the links between questions of equity and the
environment by bringing together speakers who have first-hand experience of
these issues. It is clear that these issues are centrally important both to
current government policies and to the longer term search for a more
environmentally sustainable world. The issues will be examined from a grass
roots perspective as well as at a national and international level. In
addition, we will be bringing to the conference the North American
dimension, and considering how the US experience might help inform future UK
policy and practice.

THE TIMING
The above issues have particular resonance for the UK as we enter the new
century. The Government is committed to combating social exclusion in
Britain and yet, although there is mounting evidence that environmental
factors compound and exacerbate social exclusion, little work has been
undertaken to examine the policy implications of this. Equally, the
Government has a formal commitment to Agenda 21, signed at Rio - effectively
the global plan for sustainable development. With the South African Rio+10
now being planned for 2002,  Government needs to focus more clearly on how
the substantial social changes which sustainable development implies are
likely to be secured, and how these must be related to questions of
environmental and social equity.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
* Practitioners and Policy Makers * Regulators, eg the Environment Agency,
the HSE * Researchers, Students and Teachers * Representatives from central
and local government * ngos, charities and trusts with an interest in the
environment/social issues * those involved in communicating environmental
information

COST (to include lunch)? Forty pounds plus VAT for academics, or non-profit
making organisations, fifteen pounds plus VAT for post-graduate students, £5
plus VAT for undergraduates (no lunch), all others £60 plus VAT.




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Professor David Uzzell, BA, MSc, PhD, FBPsS, CPsychol
Department of Psychology
University of Surrey
Guildford, GU2 7XH, UK

Tel: +44 1483 259430
Fax: +44 1483 259512
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/Psychology/msc-environmental.html
http://www.bwk.tue.nl/iaps/
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